In Australia’s First Building Equality Policy (BEP), the Victorian Government announces that Australia’s most male-dominated industry will need to hire a minimum number of women by 2024 or will face penalties. Did.
With the goal of “breaking gender stereotypes,” women are now at least 38% of the role of government contract projects to help more women enter the construction, infrastructure, and civil engineering sectors. Must occupy.
Women also need to occupy 3% of the trade role, currently 2.5%, 7% of the non-trade role and 35% of the management, oversight and profession.
Includes all government projects worth more than $ 20 million, including the state’s North East Link, Victoria’s largest road project investment in history.
However, this issue needs to be addressed at the grassroots level, such as in classrooms and workshops, said Atherton Hacia, founder of Empowering Women in Trade.
“You can go back to Bob the Builder, who works with Bob. There is no such thing as Britney the Builder,” Chasia told Sky News.
However, according to Randstad’s report, the government quota is Create backlash Within the construction industry.
“Instead, a better approach is to ask companies to set qualitative and quantitative goals for inclusion and the benefits they want to achieve (eg, improving employee well-being and retention),” the report said. increase.
The number of women in the construction industry is lower than in other sectors due to the uniqueness of the industry, such as the temporary nature of the project and the physically demanding work that requires strength and stamina, such as the use of heavy machinery and machinery. There is a possibility of becoming.
The American company Comer Construction says this is why many positions in the construction industry need to be able to load specific weights into their job descriptions.
“These lift requirements eliminate people who lack extraordinary power, but these restrictions allow workers to safely complete common tasks required within their position. It is necessary for Comer Construction. ” Said..
“Many jobs in the construction industry rely more on the mind than on the muscles, but some of the construction is still physically difficult and requires barbaric power.”
Federal, state and local governments make up a significant proportion of construction contracts, and promoting gender equality is an obligation under the Australian Government’s 2012 Federal Work Gender Equality Act.
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Jessie Zhang is a Sydney-based reporter with Australian news and a focus on health and the environment. Contact her at [email protected]